Tharaka-Nithi lab technicians re-arrested in forgery probe

Saturday January 26 2019

Four Tharaka-Nithi County laboratory technicians are in police custody following their re-arrest in a probe on crimes including forgery and working without requisite medical documents.

Naftary Kinoti Gakindu, Fridah Wanja, Elvin Karimi Katheru and Fridah Kendi Muriungi had denied the charges and had been released.

They had been fined Sh75,000, Sh40,000, Sh10,000 and Sh20,000 respectively in a December 10, 2018 judgment at a Chuka court.

They were re-arrested on Thursday and taken to Ntumu Police Station. By Saturday, they were yet to post bond.

REVIEW

The four were summoned by the High Court in Chuka on Thursday after the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board (KMLTTB) sought a judicial review of their cases that were concluded by a lower court last year.

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They were among 12 people apprehended in July 2018 by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Kathwana following scrutiny of their documents.

In a letter dated January 16, 2019 and signed by board registrar Abdulatif Ali, the organisation asked the court to issue strict bail or bond terms or maximum sentences against the four to discourage illegal operations.

“The four operated illegally, risking the lives of many innocent people,” Mr Ali said, adding they had been illegally earning from public scoffers for many years.

The accused person’s lawyer sought a week to respond on the matter.

The court released them on a bond of Sh200,000 or a cash bail of Sh100,000 each in the case that will be mentioned on January 29.